


What kind of cat has more fun?

by TellerOfTales



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU, Cats, Fluff, Gen, Humor, One Shot, in which adrien/mari/nino/nath are all actual cats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-14 06:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7157537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TellerOfTales/pseuds/TellerOfTales
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new kitty, Marinette, has moved into the area and Adrien, who is also a cat, falls ears over tail in love with her.</p><p>"Lady and the Tramp, cat version" -Greytune</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wonderful Lives

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for Lucia (@luciasatalina on tumblr) because of her wonderful new amv (https://youtu.be/RZQui_HGuM0)  
> Also the links on the names at the start take you to picture of how I imagine the characters look as cats.  
> And cat behavior was heavily modified for the purpose of the fic.

“[Adrien](http://www.best-cat-art.com/images/black-cats-give-wishes-21770838.jpg), what’s up with you? You’ve been acting funny all day,” [Nino](http://www.catsofaustralia.com/images/burmese-cat-corrine.jpg) asked his best friend sitting beside him. They were up on a rooftop, looking into the house opposite them. Nino couldn’t see what had captured his friend’s interest all day from where he sat.

“There’s a new cat in town and she lives in that house there,” using a paw Adrien gestured to the house they were staring at. Not bothering to put his paw down Adrien licked it and smoothed out the black fur on the top of his head and chest.

“How do I look Nino?” Adrien stood up and prowled along the gutter, waiting for his friend’s approval.

Nino scoffed, rolling his yellow eyes. “You look fine. What’s so special about her that its got you ears over tail for her anyways?” Slowly Nino got up and bowed his back in a long stretch then followed Adrien down the roof and into the garden of the new cat.

“She’s beautiful alright!” Adrien plopped down under the cover of shrubs that ran along the wall. “She’s got these eyes,” his said with a sigh, “and her fur, her fur!” He rolled over on to his back and wriggled around in delight. He had only caught her eyes for a moment the other day and he hadn’t been able to put her out of his mind yet.

“Wow. Eyes _and_ fur. She sounds like a looker,” Nino deadpanned as he poked his friend’s stomach with a paw. Adrien hissed.

“Just wait until you see her, you’ll understand,” Adrien said with a sigh. He rolled back onto his stomach and folded his paws under himself, settling down to watch the window for any sign of his lady.

***

The sun was starting to sink towards the horizon when Adrien decided to call it quits. Nino had left, come back with food, and left again and Adrien wanted to get to a more familiar place to rest for the night. It was one thing to wait for a pretty feline, it was another to sleep in her yard before properly introducing himself.

Arching his back and digging his claws into the dirt Adrien stretched out. Not passing up the opportunity to let the new cat know she had a gentleman caller he rubbed up against the bushes and marked a few. He wasn’t calling the bushes his, just saying hi.

Giving up he slunk out of the bushes, dejected after a long day of waiting with nothing to show for it. Clawing his way up and over the stone wall he paused to gaze longingly over his shoulder. As his tail slipped below the wall, blue eyes flashed in the window.

 _Finally he’s gone,_ [Marinette](http://www.holidogtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/coby-the-cat-cover.png) thought to herself. She had spotted the black and brown cats on the roof earlier and had wanted no part in their shenanigans. Of course she didn’t _really_ know what they wanted but she trusted her instincts and they were telling her, _shenanigans._

Easing her way through the cat-flap her human had installed Marinette slunk her way into the dark garden. She picked up her pace and trotted to the bush line where the other cats’ smell was strongest. Carefully sniffing she learned both were male, probably alley-cats too by the strong stench of garbage that clung to the area as well.

Having none of that she carefully rubbed over where one of them, _most likely the black one,_ had marked. This was her yard and they’d better introduce themselves soon or she’d be introducing them to her claws. Nodding at a job well done, having recovered the area in her scent, Marinette trotted back inside to curl up on the pillow by her human’s head.

***

The next day was much of the same, though Nino didn’t tag along with Adrien. The yellow-eyed cat cited, “begging for food with [Nathaniel](http://animalia-life.com/data_images/somali-cat/somali-cat8.jpg),” as his reason for being unable to attend the stake out. Adrien _had_ been delighted though when he smelled the scent of the mysterious white cat that had caught his attention. Armed with the knowledge she knew he existed he decided to impress her.

He sprinted across the garden as fast as he could. He stalked a vole, killed it, and left it by the scent marked bush. No matter what Adrien did, his lady didn’t make an appearance in the windowsill.

The afternoon grew hot and long. Settling in for another long wait Adrien padded back to the bushes and their blessed shade. He looked longingly at the vole as his stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten all day and Nino hadn’t visited him with anything. Covering his nose with his paws, attempting to block the tantalizing scent, Adrien dozed off, if only for a moment.

That moment turned into hours, during which Marinette appeared in the windowsill to look at her strange visitor. She had missed his antics earlier and only saw him sleeping. Marinette debated with herself over going out and asking him why he bothered to sleep in her bushes, he wasn’t endearing himself to her. However, her brain reasoned that he may take her approach as something beyond casual interest so she decided she would test him.

Curling up on the top of the couch, in full view in the window, Marinette lay down, fully expecting a tapping to wake her up. Settling down for her nap she turned her head away from the window and curled her tail over her eyes to block the sunlight, then she drifted off.

***

Waking up and realizing how high in the sky the moon was Adrien bolted up, his day wasted, again. At the persistent gnawing hunger in his stomach he caved in and ate the vole. Glancing up Adrien started when he caught sight of the white lump curled up on the top of the couch, _there she was._

Not wasting a moment he sprinted to the wall and leaped onto the windowsill. Regretting having eaten the vole just moments earlier, Adrien swallowed, gathered his courage and batted on the glass. The ear of the she-cat flicked his way then went back to its forward position, he had her attention. Not one to give up, he tapped harder, extending his claws to produce a sharp clicking noise too.

To his delight, the white cat slowly started to uncurl her body and stretch. Casting a brief glance over him she turned her nose and jumped off the couch and wandered out of his field of view. Adrien scrabbled at the window, trying to find and angle to track her.

“Hello.” Adrien was so startled he slipped off the windowsill with a yowl. There staring down at his crouching form, was the cat of his dreams. The moon shown behind her, making her appear to glow.

“He-hello,” he stammered out as he got to his paws and gave himself a quick once over with a paw to brush down his fur. Adrien could sense his chance to make a good first impression slipping through his claws, _if only I still had the vole._

Slowly the white cat brushed past him, her tail held up like a flag. The bell on her collar tinkled softly. Adrien trailed after her, more like a lost puppy than anything. She went straight for where he’d been sleeping all day. Not wasting a moment she started marking over where he had been. She pushed her head and shoulders along the dirt patch he had slept her. She arched her back along the low branches he had brushed against. Adrien sat quietly off to the side, watching.

When she was done she turned her blue eyes to him, unblinking, and said, “I thought even an alley cat would know to introduce himself before marking another’s area.”

“Apologies-” here he paused, not knowing her name. A light when off in his head and a devious smile let up his face. “My name is Adrien and it would seem _you_ haven’t introduced yourself to _me_ so I find myself unable to give you a proper apology.”

Marinette’s tail whipped in agitation, first he scented in her garden then _he_ calls _her_ out on manners. She down primly, paws flush against her and covered by her sweeping tail. “My name is Marinette.”

 _Marinette, even her name is beautiful._ “Well Marinette, I’m sorry for marking your bushed. I just wanted you to know that you had a visitor who was wanting to say hello.” Adrien left off there, not knowing how to continue.

Marinette did however. “Well now you’ve said hello is there anything else you want to add or can I sleep in peace knowing you won’t be watching me.” Her eyes zeroed in on him, not giving Adrien an opportunity to duck away.

Slowly he started to back up, not wanting to ruin his chances any further. When his back end his the wall flash of inspiration hit him that may allow him a chance to talk with Marinette more. “Well-” his voice trailed away as he turned and looked up at the wall, craning his neck, “I was thinking that I could show you around the city, seeing as you’re new.”

Marinette was taken aback by his response. She had always been a house cat and she had no desire to leave her human, Alya. And to go off on a midnight stroll with an alley-cat she had only just met. Not wanting her hesitance to show, Marinette started to groom herself.

“I can’t tonight and my human would be upset if I wasn’t there in the morning. Besides, why should I trust a strange male alley-cat like you?” She continued to self-groom, giving Adrien a chance to speak up.

“You wound me,” he said dramatically. “As you wish though, Marinette. I wish you a good night and sweet dreams.” Wanting to have the last word he gathered his hind-legs under him and launched himself up the wall and scrambled over. Adrien didn’t see Marinette roll her eyes at him as she headed back inside for the evening.

The whole way back to the alley he, Nino, and Nathaniel shared, Adrien’s tail was pointed to the sky. He had learned the pretty she-cat’s name, Marinette. He had _talked_ to Marinette. And, based off her wording, he had a chance to spend a night on the town with her.

Adrien could already picture it. He would show her the best garbage cans. They could act cute for food scraps at cafes. They could romp about in the park. It would be delightful, if only she didn’t have a human, they could spend all day and night together.

Nestling in with Nino and Nathaniel for the rest of the night, Adrien reflected on his short stint with a human. It had been fine, at first. Two loving humans, no kids to pull his tail, three meals a day and scraps if he begged. Then one of them had left and the other had turned cold. He had never _hurt_ Adrien but he would yell and rage at nothing into the night and Adrien did his best to avoid him. Then Nino had been passing by and asked Adrien if he wanted to leave. Adrien hadn’t looked back since.

Adrien knew not all humans were like his. Old Wayzz was proof enough along with other cats in the area but Adrien’s view had been tainted. Sometimes he would let a family keep him in for a few days and he would always let kids pet him in exchange for food but he would leave before any attachment could be made.

He had messed up though, he was attached. Attached to Marinette who was attached to her human. Who was he to come between that, just an alley-cat with nothing but his heart to give. He couldn’t offer her shelter from the rain or cold or comfort of knowing food would be available whenever she liked. He could show her the ropes but street life wasn’t for everyone. He could give her his heart, but would it be enough?

Letting his mind race and wader Adrien settled down for the night.

***

“Thought you wouldn’t show up again,” Marinette’s voice called up to him from the ground. Adrien leapt down from the stone wall to greet her.

The truth was he had avoided the area for the past week to see what Marinette’s reaction would be when he finally _did_ return, he couldn’t let her know that though. “Oh, you know, the life of an alley-cat is very demanding.”

She snorted. “So how did you find the time to lounge around all day just to say hi to me?”

 _Damn, she’s good._ “Well there was a new cat in town that _demanded_ my attention.”

“So then are you the official welcoming community?”

“Nope. I just happened to see your human bringing you in to your house when you were moving in. She looks nice by the way, your human.” Adrien had to admit he was curious about Marinette’s human. Surely someone who looked after such an exquisite example of the feline species must be nice.

“Oh Alya, yes she cares about me quite a lot.” Marinette’s eyes narrowed, “that’s why I don’t want to leave her.”

Adrien realized what she thought he was insinuating and quickly tried to smooth over the situation. “Oh no, no, no I wasn’t going to say you should _leave_ her. My offer still stands though, I can show you about the town whenever you like.” Glancing up at the full moon that hung low and bright in the sky Adrien let out a wistful sigh.

“I know the humans say we have nine lives, but we really only have one and you have to make it count.” Turning to look back at Marinette, Adrien was surprised to see her head cocked, as though she was studying him. He felt he could get lost in her eyes forever.

As it turned out, small dancing lights in the corner of his eye were enough to cut forever short. _Fireflies!_ “Well if you won’t explore the town with me, how about we just play outside here, in your yard?” Before she could give her answer he dashed off to try to catch glowing bugs.

Marinette followed, at a much statelier pace, the bell on her collar jingled softly in the summer’s night air. She couldn’t see the appeal of chasing after the bugs only to trip and roll about in the dirt and grass, but Adrien was laughing and appearing to have a grand time so she decided not to spoil his fun.

Letting him have his fun, Marinette quietly snuck back inside. It was late and she didn’t want Alya to worry if she woke up in the middle of the night and Marinette wasn’t on the pillow by her side.

Twisting around in mid-air, Adrien saw Marinette slip in through the cat-flap. His heart fell the same moment gravity reminded him he couldn’t fly and his paws slipped. His shoulder dug into the dirt and his teeth clicked sharply together as his chin hit the ground hard. Rubbing a paw on his tender chin he wondered why she had gone inside. Adrien knew she hadn’t been chasing the fireflies, _maybe she doesn’t like bugs._

He toyed with the idea of slipping in the house to see what it was like. On one paw she may claw his fur out for being _in_ her territory, on the other, she may not. It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take so he compromised, for the sake of his heart.

He stuck his head through the cat-flap and called out softly, “Marinette, are you there?”

“What _are_ you doing?” Marinette hissed in alarm. She had been about to head to Alya’s room after having a sip from her water bowl when she heard Adrien’s question. _He really doesn’t have any manners._

“Well you just left me, which was _quite_ rude by the way, and didn’t say goodnight.” He maneuvered his front paws to rest on the lip of the cat-flap, silently begging to be let in. “I gotta say, this is a really nice place you have here Marinette.”

Marinette’s ear flicked off to the left, she heard Alya moving about, _not good, not good, not good._

She ran over to him and tried to push his head back through the cat flap. “ _Goodnight Adrien.”_ She hissed at him as she heard Alya’s footsteps. Adrien was too distracted, he didn’t hear them and muscled his way past Marinette. Her paw shot out and scratched his tail, right when he turned to retaliate, Alya turned the corner.

Marinette froze, Adrien bolted under the couch as fast as he could and retreated to the furthest corner. Lucky for them, Alya was still too asleep to notice the black cat in the darkness of the room.

“I thought I heard you out here Mari,” Alya said through a yawn. “Come back to bed with me.” Slow with sleep Alya scooped up Marinette and padded back to her room. Marinette was unable to say anything further to Adrien as Alya kept shushing saying it was bed time.

Adrien would have found it hilarious if he wasn’t so scared. Sure being invited into a house by a human was one thing, it was another to have them randomly find you in the middle of the night. As quietly as he could he slunk out of the house, tail between his legs.

By the time Marinette managed to slip away from her human Adrien was long gone. Only his scent lingered under the far recesses of the couch.

***

The next morning Marinette awoke to a startled shriek, _Alya!_ Leaping off the bed, Marinette tore her way to her human’s side, fur puffed up and ears back, ready to fight. As it turned out it was only a dead vole, smelling of Adrien. _An apology,_ Marinette realized.

Ignoring the chastising Alya was giving her, Marinette accepted the apology gift and ate it.

Then she trotted over to the bushes where she had first met Adrien. They didn’t have a fresh scent so she rubbed up against them and rolled around for good measure. Hopefully he would take it as a sign she still wanted to see him.

Not wanting to miss him if he _did_ pass by, Marinette decided to lounge about outside when Alya left for the day. She had been waiting for Alya to dig out the best toys for the last few days and had been enjoying playing with them again as they had been put away for the move. Now that all of them were out she debated inviting Adrien in to play with some.

She knew he would bring up how much entertaining the town was, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave Alya, even for the night. Alya was safe and comforting, Adrien was…who knew what that cat was.

To her delight she heard the tell-tale signs of his arrival; grunting to get up the wall, fur swishing against the stone, and his meowed greeting.

Before she could get a word in edgewise he called out, “sorry for yesterday night,” from atop the wall.

“Why don’t you come down here and we can talk about it more,” Marinette replied, inclining her head to indicate the patch of grass beside her.

Adrien’s heart leapt, _she doesn’t hate me!_ He leaped over the bushed and down to the ground to trot over to where Marinette lay sprawled out in the sun, her blue eyes closed peacefully.

“Looking around I can’t help but notice you got my apology vole,” Adrien said as he stretched and sniffed around at the grass.

Marinette just purred in acknowledgment, content to bask in the sunlight and enjoy a quiet moment. Adrien had no such self-control.

He lay down, gazing out above the wall at the cloudless sky. _Today would be a perfect day for a tour_. Adrien knew he couldn’t ask her directly again so he chose a different approach. “Why do you choose to spend your time inside? Your human isn’t around, you could leave and come back and she’d never know.”

Marinette reflected silently on the matter. She had given some thought to exploring her new area even before Adrien had shown up but it had never seemed like the right time. “I don’t know. I suppose I like knowing what the next day will be and the peace-of-mind that feeling brings.”

“Well I know this city like the back of my paw, I could keep you safe,” _anything to spend more time with you doing something beyond sitting in the grass._

“After all, alley-cats have the most fun. We don’t have to do anything all day and we don’t have to rely on humans for anything. I could introduce you to my friends, you’d love them! And I could show you the best places for scraps! You’d love it, I’m sure!” He kneaded the ground and lashed his tail as he outlined his ideas excitedly.  He could see it now, every day would be a new adventure they would share together.

She heaved a sigh and turned her head away from him. “Look, Adrien-” she hesitated, trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to say. “-it does sound, nice, but I’d rather live out my life here, with Alya, in safety. You could always see if you get Alya to be your human too. I’m sure I could persuade her, she dotes on me quite a bit. She would love you.”

Adrien’s ears perked up at the idea. Live with Marinette, had she really just suggested that? He couldn’t do it though. He swore no more human attachments. It was his turn to sigh as he responded with a flat, “no.”

Marinette was a bit surprised at his short answer but she did her best to hide it. It seemed they were both playing a game neither wanted to discuss aloud, convince the other to leave their life. _Well, he’s here so I may as well start my strategy._

She looked at him coyly and asked, “Adrien, you seemed so interested in my home yesterday, would you like to come in?”

Adrien’s paws scrabbled as he tried to get up. “Really? You’d let me in!” He trotted over to sit by the cat-flap, she may have invited him in but he wasn’t going to go dashing in this time.

Slowly, to annoy Adrien, Marinette stretched out her back and legs until she was satisfied. Then she walked through the cat-flap, letting her tail drag across Adrien’s nose on the way in. He sneezed.

When he followed her in, Adrien took better stock of his surrounding than the previous night had allowed. The space was organized and uncluttered. The couch was off to his left, a low table was in front of it. He could hear noise coming from that area so he slowly walked forward to investigate. Adrien saw Marinette’s tail twitching as she dug through as basket under the table.

Adrien crouched down, tail straight behind him, eyes locked on to the tail. Just as Marinette made a triumphant noise and started to back out of the basket, Adrien leapt with a yowl.

He ended up colliding with her shoulder, pushing her onto the ground under him. She turned and kicked his stomach with her back paws. Adrien rolled off of her and regained his footing. Both of them puffed out their fur, Marinette looking bigger by virtue of having longer fur. She advanced on him, lips curled back in a hiss.

“Oh come on now Marinette, you know I was just playing,” Adrien whined as he started to back up. Looking at her eyes though he could tell she wasn’t furious, she was challenging him to see what he would do. So he turned tail and sprinted about the house, Marinette gave chase.

Inevitably she caught him, knowing the layout of the house far better than him. Taking a break the two lapped up water then headed back to the couch where the toy Marinette had gotten out lay forgotten.

Adrien looked at it, puzzled. It was a plastic bag, not like most toys he was familiar with. Marinette brushed past him and tore through the plastic with her claws. Immediately a wonderful scent washed over the two. _Catnip!_

The two rolled around it the shredded plant and nibbled on little bits. Soon their exhaustion was forgotten and they were back to tussling on the ground. The more they played in the herb, the slower their movements got though.

Marinette would give up a swipe and instead follow that leg down and roll onto her shoulder and continue until she lay on her back, where she would rub and wiggle in delight. Adrien would go down and not bother getting to his feet, he would lie there quietly, letting euphoria was over him. 

That was how Alya found them, blissed out, surrounded by an explosion of dried catnip. _And one of them isn’t even my cat,_ she realized. She bent down to scoop up a floppy Marinette who rumbled out a half-hearted purr in greeting. Alya sighed, “what am I going to do with you Marinette?”

Depositing Marinette on the sofa, Alya cautiously approached the black cat who was tracking her through half-lidded green eyes. Holding out her hand for the cat to sniff Alya slowly moved to pick him up and was relieved when he started purr and head-butted her hand. Both of them curled up on the couch and started to doze as Alya found her vacuum and cleaned up the mess they had made.

As the vacuum droned loudly on, Marinette and Adrien started to come down from their catnip induced high. Marinette felt bad for making such a mess and Adrien slipped off and under the couch like liquid ink.

“Oh where’d your friend go Marinette?” Alya asked when she looked up to put the vacuum way. She only heard a meow when Marinette said, “under the couch.”

Though when Adrien hissed at her, asking why she would give away his hiding place Alya heard the hiss too. Adrien backed into the corner as far as possible and gave a small warning hiss as Alya knelt down and looked under the couch.

“Oh don’t be like that to my human,” Marinette said when she hopped off the couch to rub against Alya, who was laying on her stomach to see Adrien.

“Come on out kitty. I won’t hurt you,” Alya cooed at the frightened cat. She lay there for a few minutes, at an impasse. Finally she gave up and rolled onto her back, dragging Marinette onto her stomach for a cuddle and head scratched. Marinette purred in delight.

Slowly Adrien uncurled his body while the other two were distracted. He shimmied out from under the couch and hugged the wall, making his way to the cat-flap. He heard a soft good-bye from Marinette as he slipped out.

He planned on coming back later that night though. She had shown him her home, now it was his turn.

***

To Adrien’s delight she was sitting on the couch when he returned in the evening. When she saw him she hopped down and quickly came out through the cat-flap.

“Good evening Marinette,” he said as he rubbed against her cheek in greeting. “I hoped you would join me for a stroll into town.”

“This _again_ Adrien? I can’t leave Alya, it would break her heart.” Marinette said as she sat down to start grooming herself.

Frustrated, Adrien started pacing in front of her, tail lashing. “You know what Marinette, do you have any dreams, anything you want to do with your life?” He didn’t give her a moment to even think of an answer before he was carrying on. “I want to see the aurora. One of _my humans_ wanted to see them before she left me. She said she would take me with her when she went to see them. She showed me pictures and told me how beautiful it would be. Even though she thought I couldn’t understand her, she still told me all about them-” Adrien’s voice broke, thinking of his dear, sweet human. He missed her so _bad_ sometimes it hurt.

Marinette paused her grooming to walk beside him, purring. He leaned against her, breathing in her scent and accepting her comfort. When his cheek brushed over her collar he paused, then she did too.

Slowly he lowered his head to her neck. “Just stay still for me and I can bite your collar off Marinette. Then you can be free to do what you want. You don’t have to stay here with you human, they all leave eventually.”

Gently she pulled away from him. “Oh Adrien,” she said quietly. “You really are sweet but I can’t give up my life with Alya. And yes, we only have one life, but that’s why I want to stay here, where I don’t have to worry about being hit by a car or something.” Nuzzling into the fur on his scruff she added, “how would I know if _you_ were hit.”

“Oh Marinette, why must you be so stubborn,” Adrien asked as he arched into the pressure. “The hours I have spent with you the past few days have been the best in my life and I hate having to leave you. I love you,” he confessed.

Marinette just laughed quietly. “You’re so honest Adrien but I can’t say the same about you right now.” She had to admit to herself though, he was persistent and charming, he had a chance but she wouldn’t let him know that quite yet.

His tail and ears drooped and he looked into the sky, imagining the aurora lighting up the sky along with the moon and stars. “And here I was, wishing I could whisk you away to see the aurora with me someday,” Adrien said sadly. Before he had a chance for heart-break he started heading towards the stone wall to leave.

Marinette ran after him, calling out, “Adrien! Just where do you think you’re going?”

“Back to the alley my friends and I call home,” he replied.

“Well you better come back tomorrow! I’ll be waiting for you, you dumb alley-cat,” Marinette said in a rush before her courage deserted her.

A surprised smile lit up Adrien’s face as he reached the top of the wall. He gave a small nod before he leapt down to the other side of the wall and started heading home. Glancing over his shoulder Adrien was delighted to see Marinette sitting on the wall, looking out into the night.


	2. At Last They See the Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They see the lights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this for a number of reasons
> 
> I had a scene I couldn’t fit into the first chapter that I REALLY wanted to write  
> I got nice comments asking if there would be a chapter 2   
> @luciasatalina helped me out so I’m writing chapter 2 for her as a thanks

It had taken Adrien months of whittling away at Marinette’s walls but he had finally convinced her to leave her yard and explore the night with him. Wanting to impress her as best he could if this turned out to be the only time she would leave, Adrien had made grand plans, they were going to see the lights in the sky.

Not the Aurora like Adrien wished for, but the closest thing two cats could see while in Paris, the Eiffel Tower lit up at night.

Adrien had spent weeks currying favor with the captain of a _bateau mouche_ who gave nightly river tours. When the man started leaving little water and food bowls out and introducing Adrien to the tourists, Adrien knew he was in the clear, it was time to take Marinette out on the town.

It was late in the evening when Marinette spotted the now familiar shadow on top of her yard’s wall. She slipped out of her house and made her way the base of the stone and craned her neck up.

“Well come on up Marinette,” Adrien called down to her. A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes when he realized Marinette was trying to figure out the best way to climb up. “I could give you a boost, if you need it,” he suggested innocently.

Marinette huffed at him. She gathered her back legs underneath her, gave them a wiggle, and launched herself up the wall. Marinette dug her claws into the rough stonework and scrambled her way to Adrien’s side. She shot a look at him, silently daring him to say anything, when he opened his mouth.

“So where are we going Adrien?” Marinette asked curiously as she trailed after Adrien.

“It’s a surprise my Lady,” Adrien said, not looking at her. He hadn’t given her any hint of where they were going for the evening yet, and he wouldn’t cave this close to his end goal.

Marinette, of course, didn’t know that, she thought they would just be wondering around. Pressing for more information, she asked, “Will we be meeting Nino or Nathaniel?”

“No,” was Adrien’s response.

“Can you at least give me a hint? Please.”

“No.”

Marinette rolled her eyes at the stubbornness of the black cat leading her to places unknown. She had to admit, he’d grown on her, and in a certain light his eyes and coat would shine and her heart would flutter. When she had caved and agreed to leave her yard one night Marinette had worried his happy caterwauling would wake the entire street.

As they pressed further on they wove in and out of human legs. The two cats passed over a bridge where couples talked in hushed voices and metallic clinks echoed on the guard rails. To Marinette’s surprise Adrien took a sharp right down a flight of steps to the river’s edge.

“We’re close Marinette,” he called out over his shoulder as he padded along. Marinette noticed there seemed to be more and more humans on the bank of the river and stuck close to Adrien as they moved forward.

Adrien slunk through he shadows and went mostly unnoticed by virtue of his dark fur. Marinette on the other hand caught the attention of many of the tourists in line. By the time she had made it through the crowd, Adrien was sitting at the front of the line, cleaning his fur.

“Adrien,” Marinette hissed as her eyes darted nervously at the humans, “what are we doing here?”

“Going for a boat ride to see the sights,” Adrien said calmly as he continued to self-groom. A low horn sounded and his ear’s twitched towards the river, their boat was returning. The chatter of the humans swelled, Marinette pressed herself firmly against Adrien’s side.

He gave her a quick lick on the shoulder to reassure her. Then, butting his head against her shoulder to get her moving, Adrien led the way to the end of the dock.

When the plank went down and a worker stepped off to help tourists off, Adrien slipped on, Marinette hot on his heels.      

Adrien made his way to the Captain, his chest puffed out in confidence and excitement. Winding his way in and out of the man’s legs, Adrien couldn’t help but notice Marinette went to hide under the captain’s chair. Internally he worried if it was all too much for her first time out.

Leaving the man, Adrien crouched down by the chair to talk to the nervous white she-cat. “Marinette, it’s alright. Captain Astruc is really sweet. We’re perfectly safe on the boat. I promise you won’t get wet.”

Marinette didn’t move an inch, now she understood why Adrien had been so cagey about their destination. She had been envisioning raiding choice garbage cans. Visiting Nino and Nathaniel. Playing in a park. Instead here she was, on a boat, surrounded by strange humans, her only companion, a crazy black cat.

“Oh, is this your lady friend _Minou_?” Captain Astruc asked Adrien as he too crouched down to see what was distracting the black cat. When he saw the white ball of fur under his chair he chuckled and held out his hand. Marinette didn’t move. “She doesn’t seem too keen on me _Minou_ ,” he told Adrien.

“It’s not you, it’s me and my silly idea that has her like this,” Adrien meowed dejectedly to the human as he made his was slowly over to Marinette, warry of her claws should she be angry at him. Carefully he bumped noses with her, his body language expressing his apology.

“Sorry for taking you here Marinette, there was just something I really wanted to share with you. I can take you back home now if you want, there’s still time,” Adrien said softly, trying to comfort the she-cat.

Still crouching, ears twitching every which way, Marinette shook her head. “No, I said I’d go out with you and I’m not going back on my word. I’m staying.”

“Thank you.” Adrien couldn’t think of anything else to say so he settled in beside her. Captain Astruc stood up and started to fiddle with switched to start the next tour.  

Slowly the boat made its way up the river, under a variety of bridges and past many Parisian landmarks. At some point Captain Astruc had set out the dishes of food and water. Adrien was content to feel Marinette relaxing more and more at his side.

Then they rounded a bend and Adrien saw a glow in the distance, the Eiffel Tower. “Marinette, can you come out. There’s something I want to show you,” Adrien asked, a note begging in his voice.

Steeling her nerves, Marinette said, “I guess I should see what you tricked me into coming all this way for.” Adrien rubbed past her and flicked his tail, indicating he wanted her to follow him.

They made their way to the prow of the boat and Marinette’s jaw dropped and she sat down at the sight that greeted her. With a self-satisfied smile on his face Adrien sidled up to her and sat down.

“Figured I’d never be able to see the Aurora with you so I had to settle for the next best thing.”

Marinette didn’t respond, eyes drawn to the flickering lights up and down the Tower.

They sat there in silence for the rest of the night, enjoying the lights and each other’s company. When the boat turned around they made their way to the stern to keep gazing at the lights. It was a magical night for them both. Marinette was outside for the first time in her life. Adrien’s heart felt like it was going to dissolve into pure mush, he was so happy.

Neither wanted the night to end as they made their way back to Marinette’s house.

“Thank you Adrien, it was beautiful,” Marinette said in a quiet voice.

“Thank you for coming Marinette,” Adrien said. In rushed whisper he added, “you are beautiful.”

 “See you tomorrow.”

“Good night my Lady.”

“Good night, _Minou._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok that's it, its done. They live happily ever after. When he's old, Adrien caves and moves in with Marinette and Alya takes care of them both. The end.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no beta  
> I love comments  
> Always spay/neuter your pets  
> find me @the-teller-of-tales or @avatartagg on tumblr


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